Charlie Nash Revealed for Street Fighter V, M. Bison Teased

Charlie Nash, the US Marine that has worked alongside Guile and Chun Li, officially makes his return to the Street Fighter franchise in Street Fighter V. His return was first teased at the 2014 Capcom Cup, but a new trailer finally shows him in action. He has appeared in a handful of games, but his death at the hands of the villainous M. Bison has always served as Guile’s motivation in the series, so his appearances are sparse by nature. His moveset is also very similar to Guile’s and its often redundant for the two to appear in the same game. His appearance in Street Fighter V will address both of those problems with a new storyline and some serious changes to his playstyle.

It’s been widely speculated that Charlie may have survived his encounter with M. Bison, but his reveal trailer finally lays that theory to rest. One look at the new Charlie makes it clear that his fight with Bison was indeed fatal and he has now been resurrected with Frankenstein-style stitchings covering his body. Who is responsible for raising Charlie from the dead hasn’t been officially announced, but the oval jewel set in his forehead is reminiscent of Street Fighter III villain Gill who is known for having the ability to resurrect himself.

Check out the new trailer we were talking about:

Many were concerned that Charlie’s return would prevent Guile from also stepping into the ring, but those fears can safely end here. Charlie does still use some of Guile’s moves, like the Sonic Boom projectile and the Flash Kick, he also has plenty of new tricks to call his own. Charlie now has the ability to teleport behind his opponent and plenty of dash moves to enable close combat. This makes Charlie more of a reimagining of Guile’s playstyle with an emphasis on rush-down tactics rather than an outright replacement for him. This doesn’t confirm that Guile will return, but it does mean that there is room in the roster for both of them.

Aside from that, the trailer also displays a significant update in the game’s engine. Lighting effects and animations have improved significantly from the original demo build that was shown off at the game’s first reveal. Onlookers have also been adding into the background to make stages more visually active. It’s a big step up for the look of the game and it can only get better from here.

Finally, central antagonist M. Bison was teased at the trailer’s end as the next fighter to join the roster. For Street Fighter fans, this is one of the most important days in the build-up for Street Fighter V’s release… But for Bison, it was only Tuesday.